Macworld Masterclass: GarageBand to Logic Express

Explore the features available in Apple's Logic Express 9

GarageBand includes everything you need to produce high-quality tracks, but by doing the heavy lifting for you – in terms of loops and effects and omitting ‘pro’ features like a mixer and proper audio editing – Apple has restricted what you can achieve. See also: GarageBand 11 review.

Indeed, compared with Logic Express 9 and the mighty Logic Studio, GarageBand is a ready-meal in front of the TV, rather than three courses in a five-star restaurant. Making the jump from GarageBand takes time and effort, but it’s worth it. In this tutorial we’ll open a GarageBand song in Logic Express 9 and look through interface and main features. Then we’ll have some fun with guitar effects.

1. Save a GarageBand song Here’s the familiar GarageBand interface with a simple song we’ve created – a bit of country rock with a single lead vocal. Since Logic Express 9 (hereafter just plain Logic Express) can open GarageBand files, simply click the File menu and choose Save. Now we can open it in Logic Express.

2. Open the song Start Logic Express, go to the File menu, and choose Open. Navigate to wherever you stored the GarageBand song and then select it. Logic Express understands all kinds of music files (even going back to its ancient ancestor Notator SL for the Atari ST) so simply click the Open button.